A Steady Stream of Visitors

Since March, I’ve been playing host to a seemingly constant stream of visitors coming to Vienna from different European countries, and there are still more to come. First, there was Steve; then a friend of mine from home, whom I actually met in Finland, Alex; overlapping with Alex, there was my Finnish friend, Emmi; and a little while later, another friend from Finland, Henri, came. In between, Thomas has also been here and helped host Emmi by acting as a superb tour guide of Vienna. 

Before the arrival of Emmi, way back on Easter Sunday (that’s how busy I’ve been, only being able to catch up on blog writing now!), Thomas and I managed to get hold of a couple of cheap tickets from my landlady (only 12€ each) to see the locally famous Strauss II operetta, Die Fledermaus. I had to ask the difference between an opera and an operetta, this being my first experience of one, and I was told that an operetta serves as a light-hearted and funnier version of opera. We revelled in the opportunity to dress up and feel like part of the elite; me in my purple graduation dress, and Thomas in a sharp suit. Even if I do say so myself, I think we presented ourselves rather well! The operetta itself was entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable; despite the English surtitles provided above the stage, which I found was distracting from the performance itself more than anything, I was able to understand the plot and even most of the jokes in German. That’s progress!

Another great language learning experience was the Frauen Fun Run, held while Emmi was visiting Vienna. I wasn’t feeling particularly well at that time, but thankfully Emmi was there to help and encourage me and, luckily, I was only registered for a 3km run. Unexpectedly, I felt fine during the actual run; it was just before and after that wasn’t so great. Nevertheless, I’m glad I did it; it was at least worth it for the freebies from the sponsors, like Kellogg’s and Nivea. 

At one point, in that same week, I found myself enjoying a Hugo spritzer in the sunshine with three girls visiting Vienna! Emmi’s and Alex’s trips conveniently overlapped, while Laura, another Finn who happened to be the previous Comenius Assistant last year in the same school I work in, came back to revisit and relive her time in Vienna. We took advantage of the weather (despite the unsettled “April weather” forecast , it stayed fine) by sitting out on the terrace at the Hundertwasserhaus and walking along the Donau canal. 

The next stop was Klagenfurt for the weekend! We headed by train to the southern part of Austria, close to the Italian border, with my two tandems. Four of us girls, Emmi, Alex, Bartle (my fellow Comenius friend, Laura) and I, shared a four-person Junior Suite in supposedly the best hotel in Klagenfurt, which somehow happened to be the cheapest option for us! I was completely sold by the possibility to have a bath! It’s funny how much more I appreciate the chance to take a nice, relaxing, hot bath after living for so long without one. 

 Klagenfurt itself is a small city, though the sixth largest in Austria, with its main attraction being the nearby lake, Wörthersee. The town itself is quaint and charming with a friendly, amiable atmosphere that oozes summer holiday appeal. We found ourselves chilling out by the lake; visiting Minimundus that consists of mini models of famous landmarks from around the world; dancing and rapping next to the mini- Eiffel Tower (for the purpose of a music video); searching for peacocks where none existed in the Europa nature park; and treating ourselves to a steak dinner. 

After indulging in the delicious dinner, our attention was distracted by a group of ladies out for a hen party. I had seen hen parties in Vienna and wondered what the tradition is, because, from what I’d seen, they go around with a box of random things to sell and I was under the impression that they mostly target men. Emmi’s friend, whom Emmi first met on Erasmus in Belfast and who is now living in Klagenfurt, could explain to us as a native Austrian how it works. In fact, we learned through experience as she decided to purchase a few shot-size bottles of ‘kleiner Klopfer’ from the hen-party stash. It turns out there is a special custom to how to drink those. First, you unscrew the cap from the mini-bottle, then lightly squeeze the cap onto the tip of your nose, while chanting ‘zum, zum, zum, ZUM’ louder and louder with the others drinking with you, and finally down it straight from the bottle. It was certainly an interesting, authentic, drinking tradition to experience!

Emmi’s friend also kindly offered to drive us to a specially-constructed viewing point, about 20 minutes outside of the main town. It was a viewing tower, to be exact, that had only been recently reconstructed in 2013 to include an ‘emergency’ slide. I say that, but after climbing upwards of 322 steps up (or taking the lazy option of the lift!), there is the possibility to pay an extra 4€ to take the slide down! Since this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, all of us chose to pay for the added extra. I proudly climbed the steps to the top in record speed, to be rewarded with a magnificent view over the lake and surrounding towns and villages. Moreover, we happened to be there during some drama, as a continuous stream of classic cars drove up the mountain to join some kind of classic car club meeting at the foot of the tower. Engine trouble and a fire brigade were also involved! Nevertheless, the real thrill came from the slide ride down which turned out to be A LOT fast than I had predicted and was prepared for! Completely worth it though. 

 

Back in Vienna, I had plenty to be getting on with and was glad for a day’s break over May Day. Usually, Thomas and I have celebrated the Finnish tradition of Vappu over May Day, but this was the first time in 4 years that we haven’t spent it in Finland, nor together. Thomas unfortunately had an obligatory military week to serve, while I sunned myself in 21˚C heat with a sushi picnic in the city. It’s a hard life for some, really!

In all seriousness, though, between working in two schools, tutoring and taking German classes, I’ve had work piling up and up with a never-ending to-do list. In the private school, I had my first insight into one of the many big events that the school hosts – the Mother’s Day breakfast. Mother’s Day is celebrated in May in most other countries besides home; we seem to be the odd ones, having it in March. For the Mother’s Day event, 72 mums were invited to enjoy a special Mother’s Day breakfast and performances by their children. Thankfully, it all ran rather smoothly and I was impressed by how the children and my colleagues pulled off such an event that requires a lot of hard work and organisation. 

Feeling exhausted after a particularly busy week, I still managed to find some energy from somewhere to host another Finnish friend of mine. Henri came to visit Vienna and we fulfilled a packed itinerary full of activities I had wanted to try since I arrived in Vienna, but had not yet had a chance to experience. Although, I couldn’t resist also sharing some of my favourite things about Vienna too! Our first destination of choice was Kahlenberg, which, in my opinion, offers the best view over Vienna (and it’s free!) We took the bus up the mountain, admired the view and began our descent with a leisurely stroll through the vineyards. On the way down, we accidently discovered a summer winery that had just opened that very day. We happened to be the very first customers to enjoy the local tasty snack board, cake and wine on a stunningly beautiful and warm day. 

Henri came at a suitable time to catch some one-off events in the Austrian capital. On the Friday evening, we attended a free, televised classical concert in front of the stunning town hall for the opening of the Rathaus Festwochen, namely, ‘Europa singt’ = Europe sings, a five week program full of events and performances from 22 different countries, all held in Vienna. The event was really something spectacular with amazing performances from the symphony orchestra of Vienna and amazingly talented choirs from all over Europe, including from Finland, Lithuania and Croatia. I was also impressed by the lighting production that illuminated the Rathaus in different colours during the evening’s program. That was definitely something not to be missed, even though the rain couldn’t resist an entrance (we appreciated the free rain ponchos handed out at the beginning from the sponsors!) 

The next day, we arranged to meet with the other Comenius folk for brunch in Himmelblau, a quirky, wee café in the same district that I live in, the 18^th district. Being the same district where I also work, we bumped into several kids whom I teach. This became quite a common occurrence! After a yummy brunch, we hired some city bikes (it’s possible to use them for free for an hour) and cycled to the Donauinsel, a long, thin island that stretches down the centre of the Danube river. It’s a beautiful, natural area, great to cycle or walk along and enjoy a sunny day’s picnic or swimming session in the river (like Thomas and I did, last summer.) 

After that, Henri, Scott and I went to check out the Genuss Festival being held at the Stadtpark (city park) nearby. The festival had almost 100 stalls offering free samples or selling delicious locally produced food and wines. We tried a lot of amazing free food, made freshly in front of us or that we could be involved in making. Later, after having been rightfully tempted by the scents and aesthetics of the food, we couldn’t resist having, what constituted as, dinner there. The food was simply delicious and nicely washed down with a Hugo rosé spritzer, a version of the drink that I’d never tried before. 

Making the most of the weekend, we also took advantage of the one-night only chance of free entry to the museums in the Museums Quartier (MQ) of the city. This was the perfect opportunity for me to see these museums, which has been a mission of mine since I moved to Vienna. We took in the Leopold Museum that held an interesting exhibition of modern interpretations of World War I, as well as the MUMOK museum, which is the Museum of Modern Art (Museum, MU, Modern, MO, Kunst, K – ‘art’ in German.) That, to be quite honest, displayed some very strange works of art that most of us failed to understand. Nevertheless, worth a visit, or at least for free!

The Sunday of Henri’s visit was forecast to be a very rainy day, and that it was. Despite the weather, we ploughed on with our plan and began our day by visiting the Butterfly House. Henri shared his fascination of the metamorphosis that takes place in the cocoon, from caterpillar to butterfly. Having never been to a butterfly farm before, I was a bit wary that I might not like it as the idea of butterflies flying all around me reminds me of unpleasant, close encounters I’ve had with pigeons flying very close to me. However, it turned out to be an insightful and interesting experience with, what I must admit, are fascinating creatures.

Next on our itinerary was the Apple Strudel Show at the Palace of Schönbrunn. We made it just in time for the beginning of the 2pm show (they hold them every hour, on the hour, in German and English.) The lady chef flawlessly demonstrated their homemade recipe, impressively using the entire length of her forearm to thin out the pastry. Included in the cost was a complimentary slice of strudel and a copy of the recipe to try at home, though I’m not sure if I would be able to repeat her handling of the pastry! Luckily, they have a strudel hotline which connects directly to the strudel kitchen, where there is always someone to answer any strudel-related queries.

The last major target during our busy weekend was the Museum of Technology. This is a huge museum consisting of many floors spanning many topical exhibitions which include interactive activities. We succeeded in exploring most of the museum, with my favourite two exhibitions being on everyday life and space. There was a considerate area of tranquillity created where you could lie down on amazingly comfortable recliners and stare up into ‘space’ while listening to soothing music. Pure bliss. And perfect for parents there with young families to enjoy a few minutes of rare relaxation. 

Over the course of Henri’s visit to Vienna, two particularly topical issues arose – the Eurovision Song Contest, and the European Elections. During our bus journey up to Kahlenberg, we bumped into a girl I teach who happens to be from the Ukraine. She was on her way home from school and had picked up a copy of the free city newspaper (which is of very poor quality, by the way.) On the front cover, spread across the top, was Austria’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest - Conchita Wurst, the alter ego of Tom Neuwirth. The pupil I teach commented on the picture on the front page of the newspaper, asking, “What is that? A man or a woman?” Her honest and perceptive outlook was engaging and made our journey a lot shorter! It led to a discussion about Eurovision because, in fact, she had no idea what it is and we had to explain about it being a song contest. Somehow, this understandably led to the involvement of politics – particularly interesting considering the reactions of the Eurovision audiences to the entries from the Ukraine and Russia, given the current, delicate circumstances. Our bus journey continued with a heavy monologue from an eavesdropping Polish man, who offered his interesting views on the corruptive politics of Poland. Quite an eventful ride, needless-to-say!

The European elections has become a topic of interest for me, following a public debate I viewed via live streaming online from the UTU Debating Club, of which I used to be a board member and regular attendant. I personally don’t have much interest in politics, despite the fact that I probably should, but I feel that the hypocrisy and preoccupied politics of Northern Ireland can justify my stance. However, I must admit that the EU has shaped my life for the better during the past 5 years and I have the strong urge to contribute something now that I have a chance to.

Without the EU, I probably would never have lived for some time in Finland, Lithuania, Hungary or Austria, where I’ve experienced some of the best years of my life, particularly in Finland, which has left lasting happy memories.

In the spirit of reminiscing over Finland, I used my initiative to become involved in the most recent Restaurant Day, a concept that originated in Finland only in 2011 but has become something of an international sensation. It occurs quarterly throughout the year, when anyone and everyone can set up their own pop-up restaurant anywhere for the day. So, all of us on the Comenius project in Vienna pitched in to create a Comenius Café, based on the idea that for one day only, people can come an experience afternoon tea, British style instead of the Viennese way. Although it wasn’t quite as successful as we would have hoped for, probably because the concept is still very new and unheard of in Austria, it was fun all the same! 

I relived some childhood memories by making fifteens and snowballs – which turned out to be quite a challenge because sweetened condensed milk, the vital ingredient in both of these recipes, doesn’t seem to exist in Austria. I asked after searching in three supermarkets and the shop assistant led me to all they had to offer, which was a glass bottle of plain condensed milk, situated in the tea and coffee section. It looked like it would do the job but I later realized it wasn’t sweet nor thick enough to hold my traybakes together. Thank goodness a fellow Comenius friend, Steffi, came to the rescue with an idea to thicken the milk after I had sweetened it with butter and sugar. The recipes were salvaged and they turned out scrumptious in the end!

After a very busy month, there are still many things coming up in the next 3 weeks: the Austrian Women’s Run; a visit from Thomas, when we will try to sort out an apartment to move in to from August; an overnight trip with the 4^th graders from my Comenius school; and a much anticipated visit from my crazy cousin, Jenny. Bring it on!